New provincial funding (and a change in priorities) for homelessness and addictions services in Peterborough
Article by Gabe Pollock, Peterborough Currents
Peterborough social service agencies are receiving over $18 million in new investment from the provincial government over the next years for the new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub, aimed at medical care and housing solutions for those currently experiencing homelessness and addictions.
Launching just weeks after the closure of Peterborough’s supervised consumption site (CTS), the HART Hub model also represents a significant shift in how the provincial government handles services for addictions.
At a launch event at Miskin Law Community Centre on Friday, Peterborough–Kawartha MPP Dave Smith described Peterborough’s Hart HUB as a “conceptual hub,” rather than a specific location, integrating existing services provided by 11 different partner non-profit organizations and government agencies, and supplementing those with new offerings.
In addition to a new multi-disciplinary health team that will be on site at The Crossing modular housing community on Wolfe Street, HART Hub brings 62 new units of transitional housing to the city.
This includes 50 units of standard transitional housing spread across Peterborough, intended as a next step for those currently housed in The Crossing community, as well as two specialized housing projects: a six-unit development with 24/7 staffing for those with complex dual diagnoses, and another six-unit development for those in substance use recovery, which is described as an “abstinence-based” housing model.
This announcement is part of a significant shift by the provincial government in how it handles substance use and treatment. The original announcement of HART Hub funding in late 2024, for Peterborough and 28 other sites across the province, was paired with dramatic new restrictions for CTS services. This ultimately led to the defunding of all CTS sites across Ontario earlier this year, and the closure of most sites, including in Peterborough.
“Our government doesn’t believe in providing tools for the most vulnerable in our communities to use illicit drugs,” said Vijay Thanigasalam, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, who was present at the launch event. “Instead, we believe in providing recovery and treatment, breaking the cycle of addiction.”
MPP Smith mirrored these comments, repeating to reporters a previous talking point that “harm reduction without treatment is palliative care. They will die of their addiction if all they have is harm reduction. You’re not solving the problem.”
Earlier this month, Lakelands Public Health CEO, Dr. Thomas Piggott warned of the major health consequences that could be caused by closing the CTS site. Studies have shown that CTS services reduce overdose-related deaths, reduce emergency room visits, and help to forge relationships of trust between those with addictions and social services agencies, which can eventually lead to them seeking treatment.
“People are going to die as a result of this decision,” said Dr Piggott of the CTS closure.
HART Hub “is a completely different response model” than the CTS sites, said Donna Rogers, executive director at Four Counties Addiction Services Team (Fourcast), speaking at the HART launch. Fourcast ran the local CTS site until its closure, and is now a major partner in the local HART Hub. “There is nothing [in the HART Hub model] replacing a safe location to use drugs,” said Rogers.
Without a CTS site, Rogers said that there will be a “heavy reliance” on One City Peterborough, which operates the low-barrier shelter and homeless services hub at Trinity Community Centre. “One City really is the epicentre of triaging, system navigation, and support for base needs within this community.”
One City is a partner in the HART Hub project, assisting with the development of transitional housing rental units and supporting those still at The Crossing, but HART funding does not include any additional support for Trinity or harm reduction work.
Led by Fourcast, the hub will provide on-site healthcare at Wolfe St. modular housing community, transitional housing, supportive housing, and a sober-living program
Article by Bethan Bates, KawarthaNOW
Community leaders and representatives of municipal and provincial governments gathered at the Miskin Law Community Complex on Friday morning (June 26) to mark the launch of the Homelessness and Addictions Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub in Peterborough.
The Ontario government is providing $6.3 million in annual funding to support Peterborough’s HART Hub, which will provide transitional and supportive housing and addiction services as well as healthcare services at 210 Wolfe Street — the site of the City of Peterborough’s modular housing community for people experiencing homelessness.
Peterborough is one of 29 HART Hubs funded by the province representing a total investment of more than $560 million.
Recovery and treatment model focused on residents of Wolfe Street modular housing community
“This historic investment will change the lives of many people in our community,” said Donna Rogers, executive director of the Four Counties Addictions Services Team (Fourcast), the lead organization for the HART Hub.
Those attending Friday’s event included municipal politicians Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott, and Scarborough-Rouge Park MPP and associate minister of mental health and addictions Vijay Thanigasalam, along with local politicians including Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal, Peterborough County warden Bonnie Clark, Trent Lakes mayor Terry Lambshead, and Selwyn Township deputy mayor Ron Black, who is also board chair of Fourcast.
“I want to applaud the provincial government for their generous investment in our local HART Hub model,” Black said. “Your investment vision allowed local innovation and design, leveraging the expertise and experience of our local partners.”
MPP Smith, who has been an ardent supporter of the HART Hub, described its continuum of services as a “buffet” with a number of entry points.
“We’re giving them the opportunity to be reintegrated back into society, to be part of the community again and it’s something that we haven’t seen in a very long time,” Smith said of HART Hub clients.
For his part, MPP Thanigasalam shared stories from other HART Hubs and spoke of the Ford government’s focus on “breaking the cycle” of addiction by focussing on recovery and treatment.
“This is a comprehensive recovery treatment hub,” Thanigasalam said. “You can go through, get the treatment you need, and go through the journey all the way to employment training as well.”
Long-term housing stability for unhoused people with addiction and mental health issues is the goal
Rogers said that the Peterborough HART Hub will provide specialized services to individuals living at the Wolfe Street modular housing community to enable them to secure supportive and long-term housing.
“Our unique model puts a laser focus on long-term housing stability for those with few housing options,” Rogers said. “We believe that housing is the solution for those in our community facing the intersecting crisis of addiction, mental health, and homelessness.”
The Peterborough HART Hub will operate four new services: an on-site healthcare team at Wolfe Street integrated with existing frontline staff from the Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough (EFry), 50 units of transitional housing for residents moving out of modular housing, six spaces of supportive housing hosted by the Canadian Mental Health Association – Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA HKPR) for individuals with acquired brain injuries or a dual diagnosis including developmental disorders, and a six-month “sober living” program for people who are unhoused when entering addictions treatment.
Healthcare organizations involved in the HART Hub include the Peterborough Community Health Centre, Peterborough County-City Paramedics, and the Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
In an interview with kawarthaNOW in May, Rogers spoke about the design and values of the HART Hub and described how they intend to operate their services.
“Our goal is long-term stable housing, with the appropriate supports for the people who are the most complex in our community,” said Rogers.
Specialized supports for modular housing community residents with complex needs
Fourcast and partners identified the residents of the Wolfe Street modular housing community as being highly complex due to the intersection of challenges with mental health, disability, addictions, and homelessness.
In particular, Rogers said that this is a population that does not have reliable access to primary care or specialized healthcare, which leads to health issues becoming more severe and complex. The on-site health team established by the HART Hub funding will address this disconnection and provide essential care to residents.
“This is a responsive and accessible model of healthcare,” said Rogers.
The 50 units of transitional housing will be provided in partnership with private and non-profit landlords, including One City Peterborough through their additional rental unit (ARU) developments.
Rogers said that securing and maintaining housing is difficult for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, especially residents of the Wolfe Street modular housing community who require low-barrier entry to services and shelter.
“Finding housing units is not easy — housing is not available for the people that we are trying to serve,” Rogers said.
Correen Day, director of services for EFry, spoke to kawarthaNOW about the challenges that Wolfe Street residents face when working towards transitioning out of chronic homelessness.
“We’re seeing intersections with our criminal justice system and with our healthcare system based upon the way they’ve had to survive over the time that they were homeless,” Day explained.
Day said that having on-site supportive services at all stages of the HART Hub system creates an accessible route for transition out of Wolfe Street for individuals who require additional support.
The HART Hub will provide specialized support for individuals with acquired brain injury or dual diagnosis including developmental disorders through the six spaces hosted by CMHA HKPR.
Kerri Kightley, director of programs and services at CMHA HKPR, said that securing housing for people with many co-occurring conditions and health issues as the care required is much more specialized, and therefore, more limited.
“I think we’re just looking at how we build small steps so that people have more opportunities to then live more independently and in housing that they choose,” Kightley said.
The six-month sober-living program that will serve unhoused people entering addictions treatment is the only HART Hub program that will require abstinence for participation, Rogers told kawarthaNOW.
A philosophical shift away from supervised consumption sites
Although the Ford government has positioned the HART Hubs as a replacement for now-defunct Consumption and Treatment Sites (CTS), Rogers described the transition from the CTS model to the HART Hub model as a “philosophical shift,” further saying, “it’s doing diametrically different things.”
A response to the opioid crisis, Peterborough CTS’s opened in June 2022 in the former bus terminal at 220 Simcoe Street in downtown Peterborough to provide a safe and medically supported space for people to consume pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of health professionals.
On March 16, the Ontario government announced it would end funding for seven CTS sites in communities that now have a provincially funded HART Hub, including Peterborough, with a “90-day wind-down period … to give clients time to transition to the support provided by their local HART Hub.”
Like all HART Hubs, the Peterborough hub will not offer safer supply, supervised drug consumption, or needle exchange programs.
When asked about the transition from a consumption-based model to an abstinence-based model, Thanigasalam said the Ford government is responding to calls for funding for recovery services.
“Our government doesn’t believe in providing tools for the most vulnerable communities to use drugs. Instead, we believe in providing recovery and treatment by breaking the cycle of addiction,” said Thanigasalam.
He further said that the investment in the HART Hub program is four times larger than what had been provided to operate CTS sites.
For his part, MPP Smith reiterated his position that “Harm reduction without treatment is palliative care.”
A launch event was held Friday for Peterborough’s homelessness and addiction recovery treatment (HART) hub. Madeleine McColl has more on how the HART hub model combines several community partners and services to help those facing homelessness, addiction, and mental illness.
Facility aims to provide housing and recovery support
Article by Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Peterborough Examiner
Peterborough’s Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub is officially operational nearly two years after the province of Ontario announced the system.
Peterborough’s HART Hub was unveiled in January of 2025 alongside more than $18 million in funding over three years. It is one of 29 throughout the province and represents a total investment of $560 million.
Kingston’s hub is set to open in the coming months.
Project is focused on long-term housing stability
Led by Four Counties Addiction Services Team (Fourcast) as the funded agency, Peterborough’s model consists of partnerships with local agencies such as the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Elizabeth Fry Society, One City, Peterborough City-County Paramedics (PCCP), Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and the Community Health Centre (CHC).
“Our unique model puts a laser focus on long-term housing stability for those with housing options,” said Donna Rogers, executive director of Fourcast, during a launch event on Friday held at the Miskin Law Community Complex.
“We believe that housing is the solution for our communities facing the intersecting crisis of addictions, mental health and homelessness.”
The Peterborough hub consists of four components, Rogers explained. It begins with the 50 units of transitional housing at the Wolfe Street modular bridge housing community.
Additionally, six units of abstinence-based transitional housing and six more for housing for individuals exiting Wolfe Street, with dual diagnosis and acquired brain injury.
Creation of non-profit housing options integral
The significance of having non-profit partners in the CMHA and One City to make housing units available for the population the HART Hubs will serve is pivotal as well, Rogers said.
Kerri Kightley, CMHA director of programs and service, told reporters her organization operates a large supportive housing department. It is working as part of the HART Hub model to purchase housing for those accessing its services.
“We’re really interested in looking for solutions across the housing continuum and how we can use our assets as equity to purchase additional housing and that’s what we’re interested in contributing,” Kightley said of the total 10 housing units the CMHA is contributing to the HART Hub system.
“We’re always looking for more opportunities to expand that and we work fairly closely with Forecasts around supportive housing,” Kightley added.
“We’re really looking for ways that our funding can help boost this funding and or where we have some expertise or they have some expertise that can enhance one another’s programs.”
In her remarks Friday, Rogers highlighted the impact of current and economic conditions, which are “growing homelessness at a rate that is unprecedented. People cannot afford food and shelter, so record numbers are becoming unhoused.
“This is coupled with a housing crisis where the rental market is limited, expensive and competitive. The people we see in our communities and on our streets cannot compete for scarce housing.”
Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Vijay Thanigasalam was also present for Friday’s announcement.
“We have to continue to build more infrastructure, bring companies to set up shop here in Ontario and continue to provide and create new jobs,” Thanigasalam said in response to media questions around how the government is working to prevent people from falling into homelessness in the first place.
“That’s exactly what we are focusing on. We need the economy to provide mental health addiction and recovery funds and the $560 million is part of the expansion of that model.”
Model represents shift from previous approach to addictions and homelessness
The announcement of the HART Hub model was made simultaneously with the Ford government’s decision to shutter nine consumption and treatment service (CTS) sites within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres.
Earlier this year, the government announced funding for all remaining CTS sites in the province would end, including the one which operated in Peterborough since 2022, which closed its doors at the end of May.
Rogers noted the CTS operated as part of “a completely different response model” to the HART Hub system. In the wake of its closure “one would assume that the need is still there, but the (drug) use is happening in other locations.”
However the role the CTS played in helping direct people to services within the city will now be dependent upon One City, which Rogers called “the epicentre of triaging and system navigation and support.”
